cheesebikini?

“There are those who do, and those who sue.”

I’ve crashed plenty of launch parties, and most left behind a slight greasy, cheesy aftertaste — that flavor that surrounds blind greed.

But tonight I went to a very different sort of launch party. It celebrated the release of Creative Commons’ new nonprofit product, a powerful tool than brings real hope for freeing human creativity from corporate shackles.
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“There are times when the world is rearranging itself, and at times like that, the right voice, the right words in the right place can move the world.”

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My Irish passport arrived.

After more than a year of research, paperwork and waiting, I’m a citizen of Ireland and a citizen of the European Union. I’m still a U.S. citizen, but I can work anywhere within the U.S. or the E.U. without a visa. With so much depressing drama going on in the world, this is the perfect time for a bit of great news.

I scored the passport thanks to Ireland’s generous citizenship by descent policy, and if you can prove that one of your parents or grandparents is (or was) an Irish citizen, you can do the same. But finding and obtaining the necessary paperwork (including original birth and marriage certificates from parents and grandparents) requires much more work than you might think. But it’s definitely worth the trouble if you plan to ever work or live in the E.U.

Forgive the recent inactivity — I’ve been busy preparing grad school applications. I took the GRE exam last night. Work and a class project have kept me busy too. Expect more postings in late December, after my first round of applications.

(left) World War II United States Goverment Printing Office Poster by Illustrator Harold Von Schmidt, 1944.

(right) One of 15,000 posters distributed by the office of San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, October 2001.

Images courtesy of Adbusters.

Soon after the “Open for Business” posters infested San Francisco, a local artist drafted a poignant rebuttal — an altered version of the poster appeared with missile silhouettes emerging from the top of the bag. The title read: “America: Dying for Business.” (Now I can’t find a copy; isn’t that a surprise? If you have a photo of this revamped poster, please send it in and I’ll post it.)

“I was gambling in Havana;
I took a little risk.
Send lawyers, guns and money;
Dad, get me out of this.”

Too late for that. Zevon’s dying of lung cancer.

He avoided the corporate music cheese machine and his sardonic tunes remain unique and true. His zealous fan base includes Bob Dylan, Carl Hiaasen, David Letterman, poet Paul Muldoon, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, the Eagles, R.E.M, Fleetwood Mac and Hunter S. Thompson. If you’ve never heard of Zevon, see this excellent L.A. Times article.

So long Warren. Thanks for the music.

“Some of the most revolutionary new ideas come from spotting something old to leave out, rather than thinking of something new to put in.”

We’re feeling record-breaking heat in Northern California, and I just learned the perfect tip for the times: to cool down, run cold water over the insides of your wrists. I don’t understand why this works so well, but it seems to cool my whole body within a few seconds.

I learned this from the novel The Nanny Diaries; the protagonist cools off this way. It’s a strangely addictive book; it’s a tragic, funny account of a long-suffering student working for vapid Park Avenue parents who think piles of money can substitute for a Mom and a Dad.
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Supersnail (Julian Cash) creates fantastic Playa Freak portraits! Rumor has it, he works his magic from a secret white tent studio somewhere in Black Rock City.

His site supersnail.com is a great source of pre-Playa inspiration and it will cheer you up too. (Can you tell I’m excited about Burning Man? It’s less than a month away.)

He’s got great photos of Open Source geeks as well.

Nervous about that hot date? If it includes dinner in San Francisco, look up the restaurant here for a great icebreaker. Now you’re prepared for an enchanting dinner conversation about recent health code violations. Go get her, cowboy.

Thanks to Dav for writing the script that build the list — it pulls the business names from a Department of Public Health database.